In systems that provide video programs such as subscriber television networks, the internet or digital video players, a device capable of providing video services or video playback includes hardware and software necessary to input and process a digital video signal to provide digital video playback to the end user with various levels of usability and/or functionality. The device includes the ability to receive or input the digital video signal in a compressed format, wherein such compression may be in accordance with a video coding specification, decompress the received or input digital video signal, and output the decompressed video signal. A digital video signal in compressed form is referred to herein as a bitstream that contains successive coded video sequences.
Digitally encoded video streams can be received by devices such as set-top boxes and televisions over a transmission channel of some type. During the output of the digitally encoded video stream a determination may be needed as to whether or not to output the “decoded pictures yet to be output” (DPYTBO) after decoding the RAP picture of the second of two consecutive coded video sequences in a bitstream.